2000 Fall ConfChem: Assessment of Model Creation and Use by Chemistry Students

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2000 Fall ConfChem: Assessment of Model Creation and Use by Chemistry Students

01/06/00 to 11/03/06

Conference Organizer: Dr John Oversby School of Education The University of Reading Reading, RG6 1HY, UK J.P.Oversby@reading.ac.uk The conference will deal with the following issues in chemical education: 1.Teaching about model-making in chemistry 2.Learning about the role of models in explaining chemistry 3.Teaching students the essentials of model creation and use 4.Assessing progress in understanding and using chemical models The term model includes a wide variety of ways of representing chemical phenomena and is not exclusively quantitative or computer based. As far as possible, papers which cover the widest range of models will be used so that conference delegates will have a wide field to discuss.

Summary: In this introduction to the principles of modelling in chemistry, the author presents a framework for the structure of chemical knowledge. In this he relates modelling with theories, data and phenomena. The issues of teaching and learning about modelling, and of assessing modelling progress are explored.

Summary: The National Curriculum for England and Wales (DFE, 1995) specifies three areas of energy transfer in chemical reactions that pupils should be taught as part of science attainment target 3 (Sc3), 'Materials and their Properties' at key stage 4 (14-16 year olds). These are that: changes of temperature often accompany reactions; reactions can be exothermic or endothermic; making and breaking chemical bonds in chemical reactions involves energy transfers. The Science National Curriculum for 2000 (DfEE, December 1999) includes an almost identical reference to the energy transfers involved in making and breaking chemical bonds.

Summary: Much of chemistry teaching is concerned with teaching concepts and skills. There is very little in the way of teaching about processes. Even the use of computers has hardly changed teaching fundamentally with much software devoted to effective teaching of content. The paper describes the teaching of chemical modelling skills to 12-year-old students in three European countries. The evidence given shows considerable skill in creating particle models of chemical phenomena and in discussing the power of each model. The research is equivocal about the use of the software in teaching accurate chemical models that chemists use. A framework for assessing chemical modelling skills has also been tested and found useful in the research.

Conference Articles

John Oversby
School of Education: Science Division
The University of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Reading, RG6 lHY, UK

Abstract:

In this introduction to the principles of modelling in chemistry, the author presents a framework for the structure of chemical knowledge. In this he relates modelling with theories, data and phenomena. The issues of teaching and learning about modelling, and of assessing modelling progress are explored.

The National Curriculum for England and Wales (DFE, 1995) specifies three areas of energy transfer in chemical reactions that pupils should be taught as part of science attainment target 3 (Sc3), 'Materials and their Properties' at key stage 4 (14-16 year olds). These are that: changes of temperature often accompany reactions; reactions can be exothermic or endothermic; making and breaking chemical bonds in chemical reactions involves energy transfers. The Science National Curriculum for 2000 (DfEE, December 1999) includes an almost identical reference to the energy transfers involved in making and breaking chemical bonds.

Chair's Note: This paper is based on a study in an English school. Year 11 refers to 16 year old students for whom school is compulsory. Year 12 refers to optional classes for 17 year old students, and Year 13 is the pre-university year. In England, courses are much more specialised at this level than in the US and, consequently, fewer subjects are studied. Much of the A level work would be carried out in college in the US but the systems are not exactly comparable.